Purple-green is secretly increasing your energy bill

Flemish energy consumers will have to cough up an extra EUR 774 million between now and 2030. At the end of last year, the Federal Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten quietly increased the contribution for offshore wind farms by no less than 30%. In doing so, she is thwarting the policy of the Flemish Minister of Energy Zuhal Demir. “While Flanders is moving towards lowering energy bill costs, the purple-green government is resolutely choosing to increase the bill of our families and SMEs.”

Zuhal Demir’s policy is clear: she wants to get rid of ever more costs from the energy bill. In 2021, the Flemish distribution network rates for electricity would decrease by EUR 16 for an average family. But that calculation does not include what the federal government wants to do.

EUR 774 million extra

The Federal Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten decided in early December to increase the surcharge for offshore wind farms from 1 January 2021. And not just by a little, but suddenly by 30%, from EUR 9 to EUR 11.68 per MWh. All in all, Flanders will pay EUR 77.4 million more for electricity this year than in 2020. Between now and 2030, that will be an extra EUR 774 million.

No need to inform the public

It is striking that the purple-green government quietly implemented the price increase in its own typical way: by ministerial decree. Neither the Minister nor the Government found it necessary or desirable to inform the public. By way of comparison, the compensation scheme for the reversing meter costs less, around EUR 500 million. There was in contrast a lot of fuss about this, even though the compensation is deliberately not included in the energy bill.

In any case, the federal approach undermines Zuhal Demir’s Flemish policy. Minister Demir is therefore not pleased with the sneaky increase. “While Flanders is moving towards lowering energy bill costs, Vivaldi is resolutely choosing to increase our families’ bills. So they are throwing another three-quarters of a billion euros on top of the historic multi-billion bill for green energy certificates that we still have to pay off by 2030.”

Flanders pays

Flanders can once again reach into its pockets, notes Zuhal Demir. “Talking about a federal energy standard to achieve affordable bills is easy, but acting on it is proving much more difficult. Vivaldi says, above all: listen to my words, but don’t look at my deeds. And Flemish families and SMEs have to pay the price again. Incredible.”

Counterproductive

How the federal rate increase fits into the transition to more sustainable energy is a mystery to Zuhal Demir. “Why does the federal government keep increasing the electricity bill? This slows down the energy transition, makes owners of heat pumps even bigger victims after the reversal of the meter and works against the Flemish policy that is fully committed to reducing parts of the energy bill. That is just counterproductive. Not to mention the heavy bill for subsidising gas-fired power stations that will soon be coming our way. I am calling on the federal government to stop hiding the funding for its renewable energy policy in the energy bill.”